Over the past five years, the private markets secondaries industry has undergone a structural evolution, not just in size, but in the nature of participation itself.
Global transaction volumes have surged from ~$88 billion in 2019 to a record ~$162 billion in 2024 [1]. Of the $162 billion in 2024, $87 billion comprised LP-led deals. More striking than the quantum, however, is the broadening of the base. Of this transacted LP-led volume, ~40 percent of sellers were first-time participants, a clear signal that secondaries have transitioned from niche liquidity events to mainstream portfolio strategy [2].
The nature of transactions has also matured.
LP-led deals remain dominant, but GP-led transactions such as continuation vehicles and single-asset secondaries have also seen a 44% YoY rise in 2024. What began as a solution for distressed assets post-2008 has been re-engineered into a powerful tool for proactive value maximization [2]. The underlying thesis is simple: hold onto quality assets longer, on better terms.
In mature markets, secondaries today are no longer reactive, they are strategic.
Meanwhile, India’s secondaries market is still nascent but its trajectory is clear.
Secondaries contributed $2.2 billion of exits across 23 deals last year, a small fraction compared to IPOs ($8.1 billion), but growing rapidly [3].
Early signs mirror global developments:
The institutionalization of secondaries in India is not a question of if, only how fast.
Where global secondaries took decades to achieve acceptance post the 1990s, India’s market will likely compress the adoption curve. Three structural reasons support this:
What does it mean for India?
If we simply look at the incentives:
Secondaries sit precisely at this intersection.
The global market has shown that once an ecosystem learns to trust the mechanisms of price discovery, underwriting discipline, and governance, secondaries move from “alternative liquidity” to a natural part of portfolio management.
India will not just replicate this arc.
It will likely accelerate it, because the need for liquidity, validation, and recycling of capital is even more acute.
The only unknown variable is speed, not direction.
Data Sources:
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